Lady Eagles Continue Hot Streak, Defeat Midway, 86-70

The Lady Eagles resumed action over the weekend by hosting conference foe Midway College. In what would become a foul plagued contest, ALC persevered and took this one by a final score of 86-70. With the win, Alice Lloyd moves to #1 in the KIAC rankings.

This was the first game for Alice Lloyd since their nail-biting double overtime victory over Asbury. The Lady Eagles came into the contest as winners in seven of their last eight games, including four consecutive. Their last loss had come to Midway back on January 25th, and it was evident that ALC was hoping to exact some revenge.

Early on, it was a struggle as both teams were knotted up at 10 with just under 16:00 to play. Sparked by Carla Booth, ALC then inched ahead 20-15 with 9:29 remaining. ALC’s lead was short-lived though, as Midway jumped out front with a 6-0 run to make it 21-20 with 7:16 to go. Alice Lloyd would creep back and regain the lead at 27-25 with just over four minutes left. From that point on, the home team would work to extend their lead by closing on a 14-8 spurt to take a 41-33 lead at the buzzer.

It was a slow start for the hosts in the second half as Midway opened on a 8-2 run to trim ALC’s advantage down to two (43-41). The Lady Eagles were hurt dramatically as star Ariel Nickell picked up her fourth foul just around the 16:00 mark and was forced to exit the game. Despite this setback, Alice Lloyd would begin to show they were the better team.

Feisty ALC point guard Booth would take over the contest as the Lady Eagles stretched their lead to 52-44 with 15:26 to go. For the next few minutes, both teams traded baskets as the lead hovered between the nine to twelve-point range for Alice Lloyd. The fouls would start to add up for visiting Midway, as well; both teams entered the double bonus with over twelve minutes to play. The Lady Eagles would gradually pull away from MC in the latter stages of the second half as Taylor Arthur went to war inside. ALC’s largest lead came with 3:36 to go (82-63), and they coasted from there.

For Alice Lloyd (16-7, 11-3 KIAC), Booth played a phenomenal game, tallying 31 points, 6 assists, 2 blocks, and 5 rebounds. Despite missing nearly the entire second half, Nickell still had a solid double-double performance with 12 points and 16 boards. Arthur also had a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds, nearly all of them coming in the last half. Amber Shepherd played a solid floor game, picking up 11 points and 6 assists. Senior Courtney Crowder contributed 10 points and 2 assists to the victory.

Miranda Rone scored 14 points to pace Midway (9-15, 6-8 KIAC).

ALC recorded 11 threes in this game, six of them coming from Carla Booth. Alice Lloyd’s Lady Eagles crashed the boards, especially in the second half, out-rebounding their opponents 51-41.

The Lady Eagles will have their #1 ranking tested on the road tomorrow, February 18th, at Berea as they look to extend their winning streak to 6. Tip time is set for 5:30 PM. Watch the game live here.